My Fire
by redhead1555
Summary: "He called her mi fuego, or my fire." When a copycat killer surfaces in the midwest, the team is called in. As they learn more about the case, long kept secrets start to surface as a close friend of Reid's childhood is brought to the surface. As the case progesses, the team is faced with a shocking task. Can they rescue mi fuego, or will her light be blown out forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! This is my first fan fiction ever! Getting excited! This story does contain and OC. Don't like, don't read (but please read anyways). Story involves whole team, but more Reid-centric. AU, but could fit current season. I know I don't follow the speaking grammar rules, so try to over look it. **

**Disclaimer: As painful as it is to say this, I do not own CM **

"Hey, Pretty Boy! I'm still waiting to hear more about this Shannon girl!"

Reid couldn't help but roll his eyes at Morgan's statement. "Sure, because it not like you hang out with her every time she comes into the BAU, or spend twenty minutes grilling Emily and JJ about what they do together."

At that statement, Morgan couldn't help but laugh. What could he say, though? Reid was right. He did want to find out everything about Shannon, even though he would admit he liked her, maybe a little too much. But he promised himself that he give Reid the chance at this one, especially since she and Reid were such good friends.

Reid watched as the emotions played across Morgan's face and tried to repress a laugh. He remembered the look on everyone's face the first day Shannon had come to the office 4 months ago.

"_Reid!" Everyone turned to look at who was calling out so happily. Reid looked up and immediately his face broke into a wide smile. "Hi, Shannon!" he called as he walked toward the woman who had just gotten of the elevator, and once reaching her, gave her a big hug. The two walked back into the BAU, while the whole team just stared, with emotions that ranged from shock to jealousy to confusion written on their face. "Everyone, this is my friend, Dr. Shannon Fitzpatrick. Shannon, these are my friends Emily, JJ, Morgan, Rossi, Hotch, and Garcia."_

"_Hello," was all she said at first while they stared at her. Confused, she whispered something to Reid, as she stared at them, especially looking at Morgan, who just stared at her in open-mouthed shock. Reid started laughing, saying "Morgan's just shocked that I could talk to someone who looks like you." And that was true. The whole team was shocked as to how Reid could have ever become friends with a woman, who for lack of a better word, was beautiful. She was at least 6 feet tall, with long legs and a long, firm frame. It was obvious she worked out, since she was thin, but she wasn't skin and bones like Reid. Her striking appearance didn't end there, though. She had intense green eyes that seemed to pierce straight through them all, with vibrant, naturally red, curly hair that was in a single French braid down her back. She had a face that didn't fit the standard beauty, but was captivating. They all continued to stare until Garcia broke the silence._

"_SPENCER REID, HOW DARE YOU GET A GIRLFRIEND AND NOT TELL ANY OF US!" At this statement, both Reid and Shannon started to laugh hysterically. "WHAT is so FUNNY?" Garcia demanded to know. "We're not dating," was the reply. "I met Spencer at a conference a while ago, and we became fast friends."_

_At this point, Reid managed to recover, and said, "Shannon is a surgeon at St. Peters Hospital downtown. She specializes in pediatrics, cardiothoracic, and neurosurgery." At this point, Emily interrupted, "No way! She doesn't look to be older then 25, and it takes years just to learn one specialty."_

_Shannon gave a small smile and said, "You're right. However, Reid isn't the only geniuses around here. I graduated from medical school when I was 19, then completed my residency in 4 years. I've been the attending pediatric surgeon for 4 years, so I'm 27." Emily just stared in amazement at this, while Rossi, finally getting through the shock of everything he had heard and seen, asked the question on everyone's mind. "So, what is your IQ, exactly?" Shannon looked down at her feet and replied, "192."_

_Everyone in the room was shocked even more by this statement then any of the last ones. Here was someone who was SMARTER than REID! Shannon started to blush as everyone continued to stare at her, when Reid finally stepped in. "Well, now you can't say I'm the smartest person you know." Hotch was the next one to open his mouth, asking, "If your IQ is so high, then how are you-" _

"_Holding the conversation normally?" Shannon finished for him. "No one knows for sure, but my theory is I have a very large extended family, so I was always around people growing up, so it seems to have helped on the people front."_

"_Well," said JJ, "It's very nice to meet you Shannon, and I would to get to know you more, but we have a urgent case and they need to be debriefed, so-.". "I'll leave", came the quick reply, "I was just wondering if Reid wanted to go to the Star Trek convention, but the answer to that is a no brainer, so I'll let you all work." With that, she gave Reid a quick hug and walked out the door. After she walked out of the door, Morgan growled "Damn it! Just when I see a hot girl who has ties to the team, she has to know Reid first and be a Star Trek fan!" With that, everyone laughed, then went to go get briefed on the new case. _

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Sorry this one is kind of short, but I want to have the chapters follow a certain plan. Anyway, I hope you really enjoy this one!**

**Disclaimer: Don't make me say it… Fine, I don't own CM**

"Come on, Pretty Boy. JJ's got a new case that looks serious, so if I were you, I hurry up. She said it looks like a copycat killer, so we better get a jump on it." Reid sighed, and he and Prentiss got up and went into the conference room as JJ started to give the report.

"14 years ago, the town of Johnson, Indiana was being stalked by a serial killer who was kidnapping and killing girls aged 16-18. He kidnapped a total of 11 girls, and killed 9. Kirsten Burns and Judy Anderson were the two girls that were released by the killer. All of them were kidnapped while they were out doing solitary activities, like running or walking away from the mall or movie theater. He kept the girls sedated while he beat them repeatedly. He eventually killed them by a combination of stabbing and strangulation. The police had no leads, until a 911 call was received in which a girl called and said-".

"That while she out running with her dog, a man tried to kidnap her when she was able to overpower him." Rossi finished. "I remember this case. It caught my eye when I was looking for new material for a book. I never wrote it, though, because no information was every released by the police of who his attempted victim was. At his trial, he pleaded guilty to get life in prison, and only referred to the girl as 'mi fuego' or my fire. I believe his name was-"

"Alejo Candelario." JJ gave Rossi a glare for interrupting her. "He was a 32 year old Mexican immigrant who worked as a janitor at the high schools in the area. He admitted to the crimes, and was placed in a maximum security prison, where he was killed 7 years ago. I have nothing on the girl who managed to catch him. I talked to the police chief in Johnson, and he said he would have to talk to the girl himself to see if she would allow us access to the file. She asked for her name to never be mentioned, and the police still follow her requests."

Morgan spoke up at this point, since he had been studying the victims. "He seemed to have a type. With the exception of Judy Anderson, all the girls had blue or green eyes, and with the exception of Kristen Burns, all the victims hade blonde or red hair. All of them were in the theatre programs at their high schools, while he worked as a janitor. Maybe that is how he picked out his victims."

At this moment, Garcia ran into the room. "Woah there, baby girl! Why are you in such a rush?" Garcia took a moment to catch her breath, then told the room what she had just been promised. "The police chief just called, and he said he had gotten the ok from the attempted 12th victim. He would be sending the file over, and he also told me something else. She lives here, in Virginia, near Quantico. He told me that she was going to come in to talk to us." At that moment, a file suddenly popped up on the screen. JJ clicked on it, and it opened up. Immediately, a picture filled the screen, one with intense green eyes, and red hair. As the team stared, a voice was heard in the doorway. "Well, mi fuego has arrived. Let's get down to business." It was Shannon Fitzpatrick.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Round 3! The story continues after last chapter's ending. What will happen now?**

**Disclaimer: Mumble mumble… I DON'T OWN CM! FINE! Are you HAPPY**

While the whole team looked shock, Reid looked like he had just been told that all of Einstein's theories have just been declared false. Shannon walked into the room, determinedly not looking at Reid. "So," she said, "what do you want to know?" Prentiss was the first one to recover, and she said, "How come you never told any of us about this?"

Shannon dismissed this with as wave of her hand. "I really don't find this part of my life to be relevant. So, what do you want to know about the case?" Rossi, looking excited at the idea to get the full story, immediately started asking questions. "How much do you know about the victims? They seem to follow a type, but some of them have certain irregularities."

Shannon nodded. "Judy and Kristen. At the time they were kidnapped, their high school was doing a play set in Nazi Germany. For their roles, they needed to look like the proper Aryan race. So Kristen wore a blonde wig, and Judy wore blue contacts, so they could look and feel the part. From what I know, Alejo only saw them up close when he would clean the auditorium while they were practicing. Since both girls started wearing their props from day on to get used to the way they felt, he only every saw them as blonde haired and blued eyed. In fact all the girls he kidnapped were in their schools drama program. It seems that is how he picked his victims. He liked confidant girls who had no problem in the spotlight."

At this point, Hotch spoke up. "Okay, we'll get the rest of your story on the plane. JJ, will tell us about the current victims?" JJ nodded and turned the screen and started to bring up new pictures. "So far there have been 4 new victims, aged 15-19. Marie Long, Melissa Davis, Anne Bryant, and Laura Bell were all found dead 3 days after they went missing. They were all found with sedatives in their systems, bruises consistent with beating, and were killed by a combination of strangling and stabbing. The police currently have no leads."

Prentiss spoke up, after looking at all the victims' pictures. "What makes the police think this is copycat killer? The treatment of the girls is the same, but look at the victimology. Marie had brown hair, Anne had brown eyes, and Laura was a sports star, not in the drama program."

Shannon was the one to answer that question. "The police never released any of the details on why Alejo picked the victims he did. The general public just thinks these girls were picked at random. The reason why these details were never released," she started in response to Rossi's confused look, "was because I was the one who pointed all the similarities to the police. They didn't feel the need to put those details out in public since Alejo plead guilty."

At this point, Hotch spoke up. "Okay, so we know the reason why the victims don't match up to the original type. Do the police have any other reasons to suspect it is a copycat killer?" JJ nodded, and looked down at the file. "The police recently received a letter that stated-", at this point she stopped and looked nervously at Shannon. "What did the note say, JJ?" asked Morgan. JJ cleared her throat and responded, "The police received a letter written in Spanish that translated into 'I have come back. The killings have only started. I will not stop until my fire has been returned to me, so I can finish what I started 14 years ago.'"

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	4. Chapter 4

**I know, I know. REALLY short chapter this time. But I want Shannon's story to be part of the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own CM**

With that last statement, everyone turned to see what Shannon's response would be. She looked completely calm, almost bored at what had just been said. However, Prentiss could just recognize that look for personal experience. It was the look someone put on their face while they tried to compartmentalize what they had just been told. Shannon was a master at this, though, since everyone seemed at ease, while Emily could just make out the true meaning of that look. Shannon kept her face neutral, but on the inside she desperately trying to rein in the panic that threatened to break her. Had she not spent the last 14 years trying to keep her past from catching up to her? Now it was back, threatening to rip apart everything she had.

Hotch stood up at this point and said, "I think we have enough information. Wheels up in thirty. Shannon, I hope you don't mind coming with us. Some of your inside information would be invaluable, and I would like to hear more about what happened to you." At this statement, Reid finally managed to speak. "No! Absolutely not! Hotch, the serial killer is going after HER! We can't just take her straight to him!" At this outburst, Shannon finally looked Reid in the face, and with a hint of anger in her voice, gave the cool reply, "I handled this once before Reid, without anyone's help, and I think I can do it again. Besides, even if you do convince Hotch to leave me here, I will simple got on a commercial flight, and go home to visit my parents, and happen to visit the police station, where I am well known, and get asked for help then."

At this, Emily, JJ, and Morgan gave each other looks. They had gotten to know Shannon very well over the past several months, and were surprised to see this side of her. Hotch on the other hand, looked slightly setback, but amused at this turn of events. Rossi decided to jump in at this point. "Well, I guess that settles it. Shannon is coming with us. Do you need one of us to take you home to get a travel bag?"

"No thank you. I packed a bag before I came, since I was planning on asking to come if I wasn't invited in the first place. It's in my car. I'll grab it on the way out." Hotch looked relieved at this and motioned everyone out the door. Once everyone was on the plane, and it was in the air, Hotch turned to Shannon and asked her to tell them what happened to her.

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	5. Chapter 5

**This is Shannon's backstory. I hope it might clear up any question you have.**

**Disclaimer: CM is not mine, unfortunately**

"Well," she started, "it might be easier to start from the beginning. I was hyperactive as a kid, since I was constantly getting bored because nothing would hold my attention for more than a few minutes. After my parents figured out my IQ, they put me in private tutoring, and in different sports. I had been swimming since I was born, since we had a pool, so my parents put me in karate and tumbling classes when I was 6. I excelled at both, and I was a black belt by 10, and could do complex tumbling passes. When I started high school, I skipped freshman year, and was a sophomore at 10. My mom made me join drama in an effort to meet people. I had always loved to sing and act, so I didn't mind. Johnson isn't a huge city, so most of the kids in the drama programs knew each other. By the time I was 13, I was a senior, and was the lead of the school musical. We were doing "Hello, Dolly!", and I fit the part best. The second female lead went to Ashley Ross, who was a junior. She was the 11th victim.

Before Ashley was taken, I had noticed that all the girls who were victims had been the stars of their schools plays and musicals. I figured out why Judy and Kristen had been released, since I knew about their altered appearances for the show, and noticed that a certain janitor was always in the auditorium when we were rehearsing. When Ashley was taken, I put the pieces together. I couldn't go to the police though, since I had no real proof. After Ashley was killed, we talked about canceling to show, but decided against it. When we started rehearsals again, I realized that I was the next most likely victim, and this was confirmed when I say Alejo watching me during practice. I decided to try to get him to take me when I wanted him to, so I could try to capture him."

At this point, even Reid had been drawn into the story. The looks on people's faces ranged from Rossi's look of glee at getting the firsthand account, Prentiss' look of admiration, to Reid look of horror and sadness. Hotch, realizing that Shannon had stopped, quickly said, "If this is bring up painful memories, or your having trouble remembering what happened next, we can stop." Shannon smiled painfully. "Trust me, I have no problem remembering. I have an eidetic memory, same as Reid." Morgan turned to Prentiss and whispered, "This chick impresses me more each and every time I talk to her." Emily quickly elbowed him, since Shannon had started talking again.

"Anyway, I was the next time I saw him, I was sure he could over hear me tell another cast member that I went running every Saturday, alone, on the trails at the Nature Center outside of town. I knew he had heard me, because I saw the look of glee he had on his face after I said it. That Saturday, I went to the trails as usual. What he didn't know was I always took my dog, Kane, with me, who was a 70 pound, ex-fighting pit bull I had rescued from the pound. When we would go, he would run with me for two miles, and then I would let him off the leash for the last one. I was lucky, because Alejo tried to grab on the last mile. If he had seen me during the first two, he would have seen Kane, and may not have tried to grab when I was prepared." She continued smoothly, as Reid started to interrupt. "I had about a half mile left when I saw him coming up the path. When I saw the knife in his pocket, I knew that he was going to grab me. He ran up the path, past me, so I slowed down, and whistled for Kane. I heard Alejo come sprinting down the path at me, and I reacted instinctively. I felt his hand close around my ponytail, and I spun around, grabbing and twisting the wrist that was attached to the knife hand. I heard the bone crack, his shocked and pained gasp, and felt the pressure leave my hair. I threw right and left hooks until he fell to the ground unconscious. By this point Kane had returned, and seen the end of the fight. He bit Alejo in the leg, and after he collapsed, growled at him continuously. I tied Alejo up with the leash, and called the police.

When they arrived with my parents, Alejo had regained consciousness, and was screaming at me in Spanish. I replied in Spanish, and that shut him up. I went down to the station and gave my statement, explaining how I had figured everything out. When I was done, I asked the police to never mention my name to the press, or give to anyone without my approval. They agreed, and when Alejo accepted the deal, I didn't have to testify. I went off to college at Stanford 3 months later, and tried to forget the whole thing happened."

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	6. Chapter 6

**Next chapter! A big shout out to Nerd-Herd-27 for being awesome and reviewing. You all should check out Nerd's story, Never Let You Go, which is an awesome Law & Order: SVU fan fic. **

With that last statement, everyone sat back and thought about what they had just been told. After a few minutes, Hotch and Rossi started to talk about what they would do when they landed. Shannon looked out the window, and when her phone rang, she went to the back of the plane to talk about a case that had just shown up at the hospital. Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ went and sat by Reid, trying to gauge what his reaction was. JJ broke the silence, and asked, "How much of that did you know?"

Reid shook his head, and looking back at Shannon, replied, "I knew she was from Johnson, and that the serial killer there had killed one of the girls at her high school. I also knew she liked to sing, ever since I overheard once. She's known at the hospital for singing to her young patients when they are being put under. I didn't know that she had personally known the girl from her high school, or that she had been the attempted 12th victim." Emily spoke up at this point. "Reid, you can't blame her. It's like you with your father, or with me and the Doyle thing, or with Morgan and the things he went through in Chicago. Sorry, sorry!" she quickly added when she saw the look on both of their faces. Reid sighed. He knew Emily was right, but he still felt slightly betrayed that Shannon had never told him, since they had known each other for 2 years.

Shannon finished her call, and say that Reid still looked upset. She walked over to were to the group of them were sitting, and sat down on the chair across from them. She cleared her throat, and said, "Reid, I'm sorry I never told you. I have spent my whole life being defined by my IQ, and the last thing I wanted was to be known as the girl who took down a serial killer. When I met you, you understood what it was like to always have people judge you on the things you can't control. I was going to tell you about it, but when I learned you worked with the BAU, I got nervous. I was afraid you would start profiling me, or try to get the exclusive story." When she saw the hurt look on Reid's face, she quickly added, "I know that was stupid. Even those with highest IQs still have stupid moments."

Reid laughed at that last statement. "You're right," he said, "We do have stupid moments sometimes." Looking relieved that she had been forgiven, Shannon looked at all of them and asked, "So, do any of you still have any questions about anything?" Morgan cracked a grin, and asked, "Yeah, are you single? Ow!" He said a moment later as Prentiss, JJ, and Shannon all hit him simultaneously. "I was joking, I was JOKING!" Shannon started to laugh, as did everyone else, including Rossi, and even Hotch cracked a smile. "Next question, people," was Shannon's reply.

JJ looked slightly concerned when she asked, "Shannon, I hope you don't think I was crossing a line when I ask this, but you said you left for college and tried to forget everything. Did you get counseling for what happened?" As everyone gave JJ stares, Shannon smiled and said, "You sound like my mom. I never did go to counseling, though the police and my parents thought it would be a good idea. I never saw the need, but if you talk to my parents, they'll tell you I suffered from PTSD." Prentiss looked at Shannon in surprise and hope, thinking maybe she wasn't the only one to have gone through this. "What gave them that idea?" she asked.

Shannon looked at Prentiss, and responded, "After the attack, I never wore my hair down again. My parents were sure it was because Alejo grabbed me my ponytail, and they were right. I always wore it back in a bun or braid after the attack, and after a while it became routine. I haven't worn my hair down in public in 14 years. I also became hyperaware, constantly watching people, and figuring out their behavior. You could say I taught myself how to profile. It actually comes in handy. I know when a patient is lying, hiding something, or uncomfortable just by watching them for a little while. You wouldn't believe how many teenage boys I have as patients who refuse pain medicine to try to look tough. Of course, once I leave the room, they start taking hits off their pain medication drip!" Shannon started to laugh, and soon everyone else was laughing, even Hotch.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7. Thank you to all those who favorite or reviewed my story. You all honestly made my day.**

**Disclaimer: I thought this would be easier by now… I don't own CM **

After a few seconds, Hotch stopped laughing and started to assign jobs once they landed. "Reid and Rossi, I want you to the medical examiner's office and see if they have anything of importance to tell us. Morgan and Prentiss go to the latest crime scene and look for anything that could help with the profile. We have a good base, given the nature of the case. JJ and I will go get set up at the station. Shannon, you can come down to the station with us if you want."

"I would, but I promised my parents if I ever come into town, I visit them first, even if it's last minute. I can call them, and they'll pick me up at the airport. I come down to the station after I catch up with them, and get settled at the house." Hotch nodded, and when Shannon moved away to call her parents, he addressed the team in a low voice. "Listen, I want an agent with her whenever possible. She was able to get out of this once, but she has a personal connection with this case that could impair her judgment. She's already targeted as it is, and I don't want anything to happen. She'll be with her parents when we land, and we can watch her when she comes down to the station.

When the plane landed, the group split up, getting into their customary black SUVs, while Shannon ran over to a red Jeep, where she hugged two people who were obviously her parents, with her dad being at least 6'4", and her mom with red hair. Morgan saw this, and whispered to Prentiss, "I guess they like the color red", to which he got a small laugh, as well as an elbow to the ribs. Each car pulled away, and went to their destinations.

Rossi and Reid pulled into the ME's office twenty minutes later, and went inside. The ME led them back to autopsy, and began debriefing them. "The first victim, Marie Long, had the least amount of bruising, and the stab marks were shallow and rough around the edges" Rossi nodded. "Hesitation marks." The ME nodded and continued, "The official cause of death was asphyxiation. The next victim, Melissa Davis, had more injuries and bruises consistent with a more brutal beating. The stab wounds showed no signs of hesitation. She was lucky, though. One of the stabs severed her aorta, and she died within seconds. Anne Bryant and Laura Bell both have severe bruising, and both of their causes of death were asphyxiation, but the stab wounds they received were enough to kill them in a short time period." Reid spoke up at this point, asking if there were any signs of sexual assault. The ME's response was no.

Rossi and Reid thanked the ME and went to the car. One the way to the station they called Hotch and JJ. "The Unsub is definitely evolving quickly, Hotch." Rossi started. "Each kill shows more violence, and the girls took more of a beating. This guy is angry, and won't stop till he gets what he wants." Hotch thanked Rossi and hung up. When JJ saw the concerned look on Hotch's face, she asked what was wrong. Hotch replied, "This Unsub is driven. It looks like he won't stop until he gets what he wants. Which is Shannon. Maybe it was a mistake to bring her here." JJ saw by the look on the team leader's face that he had come to become friends with Shannon, too. JJ gave him a quick smile while she tried to calm both of them down. "As you said before, Hotch. She got out of this once when she was much younger, and you heard what she said on the plane. She's basically taught herself to profile people. What I think is she isn't the kind of person to get put herself in danger, especially since she knows about the sacredness of life, having gone through what she has, and being a doctor. I don't think she's going to do anything stupid." Hotch looked at JJ while she spoke. He could tell she was trying to convince herself as much as him. He just hoped she was right.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Next Chapter! I just want to thank all the people who are commenting and following the story! Your support is greatly appreciated.**

Morgan and Prentiss pulled up to the crime scene and got out of the SUV. As they walked toward the crime scene, they looked around. They were in an empty lot a few blocks away from the main area of Johnson. "This area isn't very secluded, but it's not out in the open either." Morgan said as he walked around the lot. He looked at the other crime scene photos, his forehead wrinkled in concern. "Look at the first crime scene. He covered the body, showing remorse, and the dump site wasn't near any major spots. This scene is close to the main part of Johnson, and the body was dumped. Any feeling of remorse this guy's had is gone."

Prentiss walked around the lot, looking for anything of importance. "Morgan, where were the other bodies dumped?" Morgan looked at the file and answered, "A running trail, a field by a back road, an alley behind a restaurant, and this empty lot." Prentiss closed her eyes, and concentrated on what Morgan said. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. "Morgan, think back to your high school experience, and what we know about Shannon." Morgan thought for a second, and concern suddenly flooded his face. "The running trail. It's like where Shannon caught Alejo. I learned to drive on a back road, that restaurant would be the place to go before a dance, and people would always meet to be alone in empty lots." Prentiss nodded, "All these places have to do with Shannon or high school. The Unsub is trying to recreate the high school experience."

Fifteen minutes later, Morgan and Prentiss pulled into the station and walked up to Hotch. "Hotch, Morgan and I found something. All the dump sites have ties to Shannon or a high school student. We think the Unsub went to high school with her. She must have done something to tick him off, if he were to be this mad." Reid and Rossi had walked up, and heard what the two had found. "How could he have known the girl Alejo was referring to was Shannon?" Rossi wondered. Hotch spoke up, saying, "If the gag order that was put on him was only during the trial, he could speak freely afterwards. If someone had visited in prison, and asked about it, Alejo would have been speak about it. Even if the gag order did continue, I doubt he would still be paying attention years afterwards."

Reid turned to Hotch, and he scowled at the older agent. "I told you bringing Shannon was a bad idea. All we've done is pull her into more trouble." An amused voice lit up at this opinion. "Oh, come on, Reid. You've known me for two years. You should by know I don't need to be pulled into trouble. Trouble always manages to find me. I should carry a sign that says 'Warning: you are in the presence of a trouble magnet. You have been warned.' How else could I mange to have two serial killers after me, and I'm not even going to tell you about the surgical cases I get. Trust me, even my parents have even given up hope on keeping me safe."

"She's completely right. Don't even bother trying to protect her." Everyone turned around to watch the police chief come towards them. Shannon looked surprise then went over and hugged him. The two started a conversation while the team watched in surprise. "Well," Hotch said, "I guess you know Police Chief Warren." Shannon smiled, and said "Chuck and I went to school together. He realized early on that having a young genius in your class isn't a bad thing. So I tutored him and he watched over me like a big brother." With that, Shannon punched him the arm, which started the two into a trash talking battle. The team waited, until Reid cleared his throat loudly. JJ and Prentiss turned to look at him, and tried to stifle laughs as they saw the jealousy on Reid's face. "What's wrong, Reid? Afraid you're going to lose your friend?" They asked as innocently as possible. Reid gave them a look and walked away. "Oh, somebody hit a nerve!" Morgan chuckled.

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	9. Chapter 9

**New Chapter! Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy. I hope you enjoy!**

Early the next day, the team was called into the station with an urgent message. A new girl had been kidnapped. This time, the Unsub hadn't been as careful. The attendant at the gas station had seen the girl get pulled into a large, plain, blue van. A new message had been left, once again in Spanish. "What do we know about the girl?" Hotch asked once the team had assembled. The police chief handed out the file while a picture was pulled up on the screen. A teenage girl's picture filled the screen, with red hair and laughing eyes. The only thing that stopped the team from thinking the girl was Shannon was the girl's eyes were clear, bright blue. The team looked at the screen, trying to make sense of what they saw, when Reid spoke up. "Carly Fitzpatrick. She's Shannon cousin. I know about her. Shannon views her as a little sister. She's only fifteen."

Hotch immediately began giving orders. "Morgan and Rossi, go to the abduction sight and try to gather any insights. Reid, Prentiss, the second Shannon walks through that door, keep her at all costs from learning about what's happen. If she asks, simply say a new girl's been taken. Do not tell her it's her cousin. I'll check on how soon that translation will be complete." The second Hotch finished giving orders, Shannon walked through the door. Morgan and Rossi got up to leave, while Shannon took in the faces of everyone around her.

"Another girl is gone, isn't she?" Shannon asked, the look on everyone's face giving her the answer. "Do we know anything?" Reid tried to give her a reassuring smile, saying, "The Unsub wasn't as careful this time. Someone saw him take the girl. And he left us another note, but we don't know what it says yet, since it hasn't been translated." Shannon looker relieved, since this was something she could help with. "Give it to me. I'm fluent in Spanish. I can translate it for you right now." Reid looked to Hotch, and after getting a nod, he handed her the note. Morgan and Rossi stopped to hear what the note said, to see if it gave them any insights as to what to look for. Shannon gave a small smile, and then looked down at the paper. After a few seconds, she inhaled sharply. "Tell me what this means," she said as she glared at the team, with venom and fire in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked a little too innocently. "What am I talking about? WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? I'M TALKING ABOUT MY COUSIN GETTING TAKEN!" Shannon screamed at the team. "My cousin, my baby sister, was taken, and you don't have the decency to tell me." With that, Shannon let out a long stream of Italian, getting a look of recognition from Prentiss. "I didn't know you spoke Italian. I just really hope you don't say that around any old Italian ladies." Morgan leaned over and asked what she said. Prentiss shook her head, her eyes glinting. "It loses something in translation." JJ spoke up, trying to calm down the distraught woman. "Shannon, we thought it might be better if we told you later, after we knew more." Shannon brushed JJ off. "Well, here's something for. My cousin will be dead by tomorrow night if you don't give him what he wants. And he isn't a fluent speaker. He forgot the tilde mark over the n in tomorrow. Now, I'm assuming Morgan and Rossi were leaving to go to the crime scene. I want to go with them" With one look at her face, Hotch knew better than to argue. "Rossi, stay here. Morgan, take Shannon to the scene with you." Shannon gave him a curt nod, and walked out the door. Once she was out of earshot, Hotch told Morgan in a low voice, "Watch her carefully. She is way too invested in this case to be thinking rationally." Morgan nodded and walked out the door. The rest of the team turned back from the door and started working again.

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	10. Chapter 10

**This has been my favorite chapter to write so far. I hope you like it as much as I had fun writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM, or the song 'Jar of Hearts' by Christina Perri**

The car ride to the gas station was spent in silence, only being punctuated by Shannon's quiet sobs. Morgan finally turned to her and said, "It's okay to cry. It will help you feel better." Shannon turned to him and snapped, "Well, crying isn't going to help us find Carly, is it?" She looked out the back of the car, and spoke more softly. "I'm sorry. Carly is like a little sister to me. She looked so much like me, our parents always joked that we were supposed to be twins. She is a lot like me, too. She not as smart as me, but still extremely bright. I can't bear the thought of her being hurt" With that Shannon turned to the back of the car, and started crying again. Morgan let her be, and continued to drive.

Three hours later, they pulled back into the station, this time looking a bit more cheery, but that might have been due to the ice creams they had in their hands. "What, no ice cream for me?" Rossi joked when they walked in the door. "Nope," Shannon laughed. "I used the old 'my cousin's been kidnapped by a serial killer from my past that is intent on killing me' trick to convince him to stop." Morgan walked over, laughing and said, "Yeah, it was okay until she managed to get us lost with some shortcut that was supposed to get us here faster." Shannon gave him a friendly shove. "I did not!" Everyone started laughing, since her tone obviously meant he was right. "There's a karaoke contest tonight at the local bar. Could I convince one of you to come keep a girl company will she struggles with the turn of events?"

Reid laughed, even as he could see the pain Shannon was trying to mask. "I'll gladly join you if Hotch wouldn't mind sparing me." Hotch could see Shannon's pain as well, and quickly nodded. "Of course. Just make sure to get us a video if Reid decides to join in on the contest." Everyone else burst out laughing, as Reid turned bright red. "I am not that bad of a singer! I would like you all to know that I have sung before-." Prentiss stopped laughing long enough to choke out, "Singing in the shower doesn't count, Reid!" which sent everyone into a new round of laughter, getting many strange looks from all the surrounding police officers.

A few hours later, Reid and Shannon stood in a bar while the last notes of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' ended. The bar filled with polite applause, while Reid leaned over and whispered to Shannon, "You'll be much better." Shannon blushed, and gave the quiet reply, "I hope so. I'm next." The DJ looked down at the sheet in front of him, and called out, "And next up, we have Shannon Fitzpatrick." Everyone started clapping as Shannon walked up front to the stage. She got on stage and turned to face the audience. After taking a deep breath she began to sing

"_I know I can't take one more step towards you_

_Cause all that's waiting is regret_

_And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore_

_You lost the love I loved the most"_

Everyone in the bar listened, transfixed, as Shannon's voice carried through the room, full of life and soul, as she commanded the stage. When she was done with the song, the bar burst into applause, as Shannon took a small bow. No one noticed that she stared into one dark corner of the bar for too long, at a man with his face hidden under a baseball cap. She walked back to Reid, where he stood, clapping loudly. Shannon looked down at her feet, embarrassed by the attention, as Reid said, "You were incredible! I didn't know you were that good of a singer! Forget being a doctor, you should've gone to Hollywood."

Shannon laughed at the last statement, but she continued to stare at the corner of the bar. "I'm glad you think so. My parents always told me, medicine first, then voice. I guess I never moved on from the medicine." Reid gave a small chuckle, not realizing how distracted she was. "I'm feeling I bit warm. I think I'm going to step out for some air." Shannon said as she walked past Reid toward the door. Reid nodded and turned back toward the stage as the next contestant prepared to start. He didn't see the man in the corner get up and follow her out. A few minutes into the next song, Reid heard what sounded like a surprised yelp come the parking lot. When he realized Shannon still wasn't back, he went to go see where she was. He walked out the door just in time to see her limp form be thrown into a large blue van, then the driver jump in and peel away.

**MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Evil cliffhanger! TEEHEE, so much FUN! If you want to hear what happens next, feed the review button. (Even if you don't, you'll still find out. Though you might find out faster if you leave a review.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, IIIIII'MMMMMM back! I am soooo sorry that it took so long to post this. I had a huge paper that I had to type in two after my musical was over. But I'm on spring break, so I spent the hours in the car writing the next parts. So this story is almost done. I really hope you all enjoy it. And one more thing. I saw a big mistake I made in one of the other chapters. I meant to say the unsub isn't fluent in Spanish. That will help make some of the later chapters make more sense. So here is chapter 11!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

Within fifteen minutes, the bar was crawling with police officers and crime scene techs, while the team, accompanied by Chief Warren, were in the bar talking to Reid. Morgan was the pacing the bar, muttering threats under his breath, while Prentiss and JJ tried to comfort Reid, who was on the verge of tears. "How could I let this happen?" Reid choked out. "It's all my fault." JJ immediately started to talk to him, saying, "Reid, this isn't your fault. You couldn't have known that the unsub would have found her here. You couldn't have done anything."

Reid looked up, with anger and tears in his eyes. "JJ, it's my job to spot unsubs. He was right here under my nose, and I didn't even realize it. It is my fault he has her. Why didn't she fight back?" Morgan, hearing this stopped pacing and turned to face the group, with horror and realization on his face. "She did fight back. She knew who this guy was. Remember on the plane? She said she taught herself to profile. She should have known what the guy… Oh, my God. How didn't I see that earlier?" Hotch spoke to Morgan sharply, "Morgan, what do you know? We need everything we could possibly get to find this guy." Morgan nodded his head, and continued. "When we were driving to the crime scene, she kept looking toward the back of the car. I thought she didn't want me to see her crying, but she must have noticed something. Then after we stopped for ice cream, she said she remembered a short cut that would get us to the station faster, but we got lost and said she must have forgotten the way. She has an eidetic memory. She should have remembered the shortcut."

Rossi mulled over the information, then turned to Morgan. "Think about the drives. Was there anything out of the ordinary? Anything at all?" Morgan paused, and his face paled. "There was a blue van I noticed a couple times. My God, she must have asked me to stop and take the shortcut to see if the van was following us. Why didn't she tell me we were being followed?" Chief Warren, who had received a call, walked back to the group with a grim look on his face. "I might know why. Shannon didn't give us the full translation of the note. It said her cousin would be released if she took Carly's place."

Hotch quickly turned to Reid, and began to question him. "Reid, did Shannon do anything out of the ordinary while you were here?" Reid quickly shook his head, still numb. Hotch spoke again, "Reid try to remember anything out of the ordinary. " Reid looked angrier know, turning to Hotch and quickly saying, "Hotch, I remember everything. I have been going over everything and I can't see anything obvious that would hint at anything that could be wrong." Prentiss started talking to Reid, trying to calm him down. "Reid, she taught herself to profile. She would know what would be obvious. Start at the beginning of the night, and look for the little thing. The smallest body movement could mean everything here."

Reid nodded at Prentiss, still looking a little upset, and closed his eyes. A minute later, they flew open. "After her song, when Shannon bowed, she kept staring into the far corner of the bar. After she walked back here, when she said she was going to get air, she sounded distracted. I didn't even notice. Shannon kept looking at the far corner, and when she went out, and then man there followed her." Prentiss nodded, glad to be getting somewhere. "Good. We can pull security footage, and send it to Garcia. Maybe she'll have good news about the prison visitors list." The team nodded, and walked out to their SUVs.

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	12. Chapter 12

**I want to thank all the people who are reviewing and following the story. Seeing the reviews makes my day, honestly. It is you guys who make this all the more fun. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own CM**

With a groan, Shannon's eyes opened. She tried to make sense of where she was. As she sat up, the pounding in her head pulled her memories to the front of her mind. Shannon remembered spotting the van following her and Morgan, and seeing him in the bar. She had tried to fight him, but he got something from the van and hit on the head with something. Shannon looked down and saw what he had used, and suppressed another groan. Of all the things to be knocked out with, she had to be the one person actually taken down with a frying pan. As she continued to move around to access her injuries, she found only her hands were tied. Shannon smiled grimly. She could use that to her advantage. As she tried to figure out how long she had been out, the van slowed, and then stopped. A few moments later the door open and Shannon stared down her captor. "Chad," she growled as then man's face split into a crazed smile. "Hello, Shannon." He said. "So glad you remembered me." He grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her out of the van.

As Shannon stumbled forward, she saw where they were. Chad's hideout was in the old warehouses 45 minutes from Johnson. She couldn't help but the notice the plan behind the chosen location. The warehouse he was forcing her into was one of dozens in the area. She searched for anything that could help name the warehouse, when she was forced inside. When her eyes adjusted, she spotted the person she had come for. Carly was in a heap, about 30 feet away. Shannon ran toward her cousin, and dropped to her knees. "Carly, come on wake up. Wake up, sweetie." She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw the bright blue of her cousin's eyes look up at her. Shannon turned around to Chad. "Let her go, now." Chad shook his head, an amused smile on his lips. "So sorry. I can't do that. You didn't hold up your end of the bargain." Shannon wheeled around and faced him, as Carly slowly sat up. "What do you mean, you can't let her go." Shannon hissed, as she stared daggers at him. "I'm here. Let her go."

Chad kept the smile on his face, and started speaking slowly, like he was talking to a 2 year old. "I said I would let her go if you gave yourself up to me. You tried to fight me, making your end of the deal off. So now I get two Fitpatricks" Shannon helped Carly get up, and started to nudge her toward the door. "On the count of 3, run as fast as you can for the exit don't look back. Just run. Get to the police station, and ask for Dr. Spencer Reid. Tell him I said 'Live long and prosper' when you tell them where the warehouses are," Shannon whispered. Carly gave a dazed nod, as she edged away from Shannon toward the door. "One. Two. THREE!"

With a yell, Shannon leaped at Chad, and hit him in the chest with a flying kick. She started to attack him, while Carly stumble toward the door. Chad, taken by surprise, fell to the ground, and Shannon turned and start to run towards Carly, screaming, "Go, Carly, go!" when Chad grabbed Shannon from behind and threw her to the ground, and raised a knife above his head. Shannon rolled away as the knife came rushing down, just missing her. Carly reached the door and turned around in time to see Shannon facing off with Chad. Shannon turned to Carly, and had time to scream "Run!" before the handle of the knife came crashing down on her head, and she collapsed in a heap. Carly ran as fast as she could through the forests that surrounded the warehouses, crying as she tried to get as much distance between herself and that hellhole. She refused to stop, knowing Shannon had done everything she could to get her out. Carly stumbled into a road 15 minutes later, and turned to see the headlights of a car come down the road toward her.

**The button is sad and hungry down there. Please feed him, he is so hungry.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Know this chapter is really short, but it's important. There is more to come soon, I promise!**

After the team got back to the station, they sent everything to Garcia, who, upon learning what happened, burst into tears, but promised to dig up every bit of dirt she could find. The team worked late into the night, trying to figure out who took Shannon. "Ok, so we know that the unsub is trying recreate high school," Hotch started. "He must have gone to school with Shannon. He figured out the Shannon was the attempted victim, and we have Garcia looking for crosses between blue van registrations and Alejo's visitors. He has access to the sedatives, whether through his job or some other means. He is in his early thirties, and is in good physical condition." Hotch stopped, frustrated. "What are we missing?"

Just then, a loud disturbance was heard at the front of the station. "I need to talk to Dr. Spencer Reid! Please, he has Shannon; I need to speak to Dr. Reid." The team looked at each other, and Reid sprinted out of the room. Reid turned a corner and stopped, with the team close behind. They all stared in shock at Carly, seeing the amount of damage down to her. Her face was a smattering of blue and purple, with a split lip. She had marks up and down her whole body, and she stood slightly hunched over, like she was in pain. Reid took and step forward and addressed her, saying "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, but please call me Reid. I'm a good friend of your cousin."

Carly nodded, but suddenly gasped and hunched over in further, her breath coming even faster. "Please you need to help. Shannon said to find you, oh my god, he's probably hurting her, please-" was all she got out before she vomited blood and collapsed on the floor of the police station. Prentiss ran over and pulled up Carly's shirt, revealing a hideous red, blue, and purple stomach. "Someone call 911! She has massive internal bleeding! We may not have much time." Within 20 minutes, an ambulance pulled up to the station just as Shannon's and Carly's parents arrived. Carly's mom saw Carly and immediately started bawling as she got in the ambulance with her child, followed by her husband. Shannon's parents took enough time to tell the team to find their daughter, then hopped in their car and peeled away toward the hospital.

**You know the drill. Feed the review button, please.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Next chapter, whoo! I am going to try to post the chapters as quickly as I can, so keep watching out for more of the story.**

Shannon woke back up shivering. She looked down and found out why. She was stripped to her underwear and bra, lying on the cold concrete floor of the warehouse. She grew more aware of the two pounding spots in her head, as well as the fact both her hands and feet were now tied. But what frightened her the most was the fact that she was groggy. She couldn't move as quickly as she should have been, when she remembered the fact that all the victims were sedated. They couldn't fight back while they were pummeled viciously, having their lives beaten out of them. She couldn't help but let a slow moan escape her lips as she tried to make her body and mind respond to what she wanted them to do. Shannon tensed the second she heard the low laugh behind her.

"Sleeping Beauty finally decided to grace us with consciousness. How touching." Chad gloated as he stepped from the shadows. Shannon couldn't help be feel a twinge of satisfaction when she saw the bruise forming across his face from where she hit him. When she remembered why she hit him, she panicked. Where was Carly? Chad saw the look on her face and became angry. "Your stupid brat cousin made it out of here. But don't be too smug. I know how hard I hit her. I wouldn't be surprised if she's dead by the side of the road now. She's been gone for more than an hour. If she doesn't find help soon though, she'll be dead within two. That reminds me," he said as he walked over. He started kicking Shannon in the stomach, saying, "That's for your stupid little show earlier." When he finally stopped, she was doubled over, but refused to give him the satisfaction of any noise. Shannon's mind wheeled. She had to find a way to distract him and give herself a better chance of escape.

"Just what the hell are you giving me, Chad?" she questioned. Chad looked at for a second then replied, "Zoflac." Shannon gave him a look, then asked, "How much?" Chad continued to stare at her, but responded, "10 miligrams." Shannon' mind started reeling as she tried to think a way through the haze that was surrounding her. She desperately tried to figure out a way out of this mess she had caused. "That's the perfect dose," she said, "if you want me to slip into a coma or die a quiet painless death. Where did you even get that dose, let alone the drug?" Chad glared at her, then punched her in the stomach, grinning when Shannon curled over and started coughing. "I worked at the prison clinic. That's where I met your friend Alejo. As for the dosage, it's the proper size for a 150 pound adult. You call yourself a doctor, but you don't even know basic dosages. Was someone sleeping during med school?"

Shannon struggled to remember what her train of thought was only moments before. She was grasping at fog that swirled around her brain. She finally remember what she was trying to think of, and said, "Well, that is the right dosage for a 150 pound person. But, since I only weigh 130 pounds, that dosage is a little too high. Why does everyone think I weigh so much?" She looked at him, hoping he would believe her. She saw his face contort, first in confusion, but for one split second, she saw the fear. He then composed himself, and walked away from her, but was sure to get one last kick, this time to her face. Shannon watched him walk away, then breathed a sigh of relief. He had believed her. Now she just had to keep her thoughts straight long enough to figure a way out of the mess, or survive until the team showed up.

**The button got fed a little, yay! But he's still hungry, so fill him up with delicious and nutritious reviews. **


	15. Chapter 15

**I am soo sorry about the delay, but here is the next chapter! I have said this a million times, but a huge thanks to everyone who is following this story. And on a side note, there is a little game in this chapter. The first one to send the right reference about the unsub's name is supermegafoxyawesonehot! (And if you get thatreference, you can be my new bes friend!)**

After Carly had been taken to the hospital, the team split up. Reid and Prentiss followed the families to the hospital, to try to talk to Carly as soon as they possible could. The rest of the team stayed at the station, quiet after the sudden turn of events. The silence was interrupted by the ringing of the phone on the table. Morgan hit the speaker button, and asked, "Baby girl, tell me you got something good for me." Garcia voice lit up, "I've been cross references van registration and prison visitors to Alejo, and nothing came up. But, because I am a genius, I realized this creep had to be getting the meds from somewhere, I looked at prison employment records, and something came up. A Chad Riddle was employed in the prison clinic as a nurse, but he was recently fired, because large amounts of the sedative Zoflac kept disappearing under his watch." Hotch looked at the rest of the team, glad to be getting information. "Garcia, does he have any ties to Shannon? Did they go to school together, have a sport in common, anything at all"

Garcia's voice came across the speaker, a bit grimmer. "Chad and Shannon were in the same grade, but he was 5 years older than she was. I looked his old school files, and Shannon filed a complaint against him senior year. She said that he kept making unwanted advances, and when she turned him down, he began to threaten her. The school didn't do anything other than to tell him to back off, since the 11th girl had just gone missing." The team watched as a picture came up on their tablets. Chad was staring at the camera, looking cocky and arrogant. "There's more in the file I sent to you. Garcia over and out."

The team quickly scanned the file, and they agreed that Chad was most likely a sociopath. There were no clues as to where he was keeping Shannon, so the team got into their cars, and headed to the hospital, to share what they had found with Prentiss and Reid, as well as to wait to talk to Carly. When they walked into the waiting room, they saw Reid and Prentiss off to one side, while the two Fitzpartick families were sitting together. When Shannon's dad saw the rest of the team walk in, he went over and addressed Hotch. "What are you doing to find my daughter? I want to know everything right now."

Hotch waved Reid and Prentiss over, then addressed Mr. Fitzpatrick. "Sir, we are doing everything we possible we can. We have a strong suspect, a Chad Riddle. He went to school with your daughter. Do you remember anything about him that could be helpful?" Mr. Fitzpartick paused for a second, then hissed under his breath. "That creep? He's the one doing this? Oh, I remember him. I kept threatening to beat him up, if it wasn't for Chuck Warren. That Chad kid kept following Shannon around, constantly trying to get her to do stuff with him. He asked to a dance once, then tried to take her to an empty lot. Luckily, Chuck kept watch over her for me, or I would've beaten that stupid punk's face in."

Hotch looked back at the team. That statement explained several of the dump sites. Chad was looking more and more like the right guy. "Sir, we were wondering about Carly. Do you know when we will be able to talk to her?" Mr. Fitzpatrick ran a hand through his hair, and looked back at his wife and brother. "I don't know. The doctors took her back to the operating room an hour ago, and we haven't from them since. They said to expect a long night." Hotch thanked him, then turned to face the team. "Alright, we are going to stay here until we can talk to Carly. We're out of leads, and Carly is our best bet to find this guy. I would settle in and be prepared for a long wait."

**Feed the button! First one to win the contest gets a shout out next chapter, and is supermegafoxyawesomehot!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello, my fine furry friends. I am trying to start uploading every weekend, so here's to trying to start something new. A huge, gigantic thanks to the people who have followed the story in the past few weeks, getting those emails is the highlight of my day. I know you are all wondering who won the contest, and… Nerd-Herd-27 is the winner! And on to the story.**

Shannon fell to the ground after another backhanded slap crossed her face. She had been in Chad's grasp for 4 hours now, but it felt so much longer. He had given her another dose of Zoflac, but she could tell it was a smaller dose, since the effects weren't as strong. Her mind was clearer, as the high levels of the drug worked their way out of the system. She tried to figure a way out, but as he repeated beat her, the lowered dosage did little, as everything started to seem fuzzy. She let out an umph when Chad kicked her hard in the stomach, then started coughing, trying to regain her breath. She refused to break, just hoping Carly had gotten to safety, and managed to talk to Reid. She kept praying that the FBI would come bursting through the door at any second, but she somehow knew that she was in for a long night. She rolled on her back, and stared up at Chad. She avoided looking down at her own body, since she didn't want to see the bruises that were showing up everywhere. She decided she needed to distract him, and quickly.

"What is this even about, Chad?" Shannon slurred as she tried to catch her breath. Chad smiled down at her, then kicked her in the ribs. Shannon winched as she felt the fire building in her chest, hoping that he hadn't broken her ribs. "Why, dear Shannon, this about high school, and how you refused to be with me." She rolled her eyes at him, then immediately regretted it as a hand stomped down on her hand. "You still haven't let that go? That was almost 15 years ago. I guess you aren't the forgive and forget type, are you?" The last comment cost her, as Chad kicked her in the ribs again, turning her on her side. Shannon tired to remember to keep him calm, since aggravating him only resulted in the second of gratification, ended by his swift retaliation.

"Now, where was I? That's right, I was talking about how you ridiculed me by refusing to be with," Chad started. "Just who did you think you were? You were the young genius who everyone praised. I always watched you, but you refused to acknowledge me. You always thought you were better than everyone else, always flaunting everything about yourself to everyone around us. I was supposed to be with you, but you looked at me like I was a trash. I did everything to prove my love to you, and all you did was turn on me. This is my payback." Shannon slowly turned over onto her stomach and stood up, wobbling from the pain and the drugs. She looked Chad straight in the eye, and spit in his face. "And all that constitutes killing innocent people, how?" She didn't give a damn about keeping him calm at that moment. She wasn't going to dishonor those poor girls' memories. She was the cause of this. She would also ended this.

Within seconds, Chad had her pinned to the ground. "I had to draw you here somehow. Then I remembered a little conversation I had with a friend of yours at the prison. I had to treat Alejo, and I started asking him about why he killed all those girls. He said he did for the thrill, the high of taking another person's life. He said he wished he had managed to kidnap that last girl, since she was perfect." Shannon started struggling underneath him, and he whipped out the knife and held it to her throat. "I asked him who it was, and his response shocked me. It was you. I told him that you were far from perfect, that you deserved to die a slow and painful death. He looked at me and started laughing.

"He then started to question me about you. I told him everything I could, and in return, he told me about what he did. At first, I was shocked by what he did. But later, I started to appreciate what he did. Then he told me about what he was planning to do to you." Shannon's eyes widened, but there was little she could do. "I listened to his plans, and began to make my own. I knew I had to complete his work. I wanted to be just like him. After he died, my resolve wavered. But when I heard about how full of yourself you were, graduating from medical school and becoming 'such a wonderful doctor', I started my planning again.

"I knew that you always wanted to play hero, so what better way to get you here than to recreate the original crimes and wait. You are so easy to understand. I knew you would come, trying to save the day again. But now I've beaten you, so who's the hero now. I will be rejoiced for getting rid of you. I'm not the trash, you are." Shannon tried to wriggle away from him, but he held her down more firmly, pressing the blade to her throat until a small cut appeared. He smiled at her discomfort, and that was when Shannon realized just how far gone he was. Chad threw the knife to the side, and began to punch her in the face, slowly at first, but getting faster and faster. She gritted her teeth, steeling herself for the long night ahead, until unconsciousness swept over her like a peaceful wave.

**Oh, evil cliffhanger ending. No fear, the next chapter should be up next week. But until then, could you take 5 seconds to give the review button a tasty review so he can be held over to next week. He doesn't care if you love or hate the story, he just wants to eat something.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello again, my fine furry friends. I remember to update on time! Yay, celebrate! **

**I keep forgetting to do this, darn. **

**Disclaimer: I have not and still do not own Criminal Minds or any of the team. *Sob***

The first rays of sunlight were coming in through the window when the doctor walked out to the group sitting in the waiting room. The doctor approached Carly's parents, and addressed them. "There was severe internal bleeding, but we managed to get in under control. Carly is stable. She took one heck of a beating, causing her liver and spleen to start bleeding, but she's a tough girl. She'll be alright." Hotch stepped forward and asked the doctor when they could talk to her. The doctor replied she would wake up in the next 30 minutes. Reid continued to pace, a habit he formed over the night. Reid turned to Hotch. "Hotch, I want to go talk to her. She asked for me specifically. She must know something that I would understand." Hotch nodded, and Reid followed Carly's parents to her room. Her parents sat in chairs next the bed, while Reid starting pacing again. About 20 minutes later, Carly moaned and opened her eyes, looking around the room in confusion. "Where's Shannon?" Carly's mom burst into tears, and took her hand. "Baby, Shannon is still missing. She saved you. Do remember that?"

Carly's eyelids fluttered as she tried to remember, then opened wide. "Reid! I need to talk to Dr. Reid!" Reid stepped forward, and spoke to Carly. "Hey, Carly. Good to see you awake. You said he had Shannon. Do remember who he is, or where he is at?" Carly nodded, and winched as she shifted in the bed. "He said his name was Chad, and that he knew Shannon from high school. He has her at the old warehouses 45 minutes from town. You have to go find her." Reid nodded, thankful for this location. "Carly, do you remember anything about the warehouse you were in? Any distinctive features that will help us find the right one." Carly's head started to bob as the drugs started to pull her back under. "Shannon said to tell you 'live long and prosper'. She said you would know what it meant," she slurred before she fell asleep.

Reid walked out of the room, feeling more defeated than before. Was Shannon trying to say goodbye to him? He quickly shook his. No, she was trying to send him a message; he just had to figure it out. He hurried out to the team and told them about the warehouses, keeping the cryptic message to himself. The team drove back to the police station, and within 30 minutes, a SWAT team was assembled, and they were headed for the warehouses.

Shannon struggled back into consciousness, as she winched from any movement. She tried to figure out what had woke her up. She couldn't decide between the cold she felt from being in her underwear, or from the many injuries she had sustained. But as she tried to get her bearing she realized something. She was no longer tied up. Shannon tried to stand, and hissed as she felt the full extent of her injuries. She was trying to stand again when Chad burst through the door, and grabbed her around the waist, and hauled her into a standing position. She swayed in his arms as she realized what had woke her up. Not the cold or her injuries. It was the sound of sirens that were becoming louder by the second. Shannon felt more hope than she had in a while, until she felt the cold metal of the knife against her neck. "One sound and you're dead," Chad muttered behind her.

The BAU team jumped out of the cars, vests on, guns drawn. The SWAT team spread out behind them, waiting for orders. Hotch started to assign teams to search the buildings, when Reid suddenly signaled for everyone to be quiet. He slowly approached a building to the left that was covered in graffiti. One of the biggest drawings was of a hand, its fingers forming a V shape, two fingers on each side. "Live long and prosper," Reid murmured, understanding the message as a grin came to his face. Shannon had noticed everything. Reid quickly pointed to the building, waving the people forward. Everyone positioned themselves, covering all the exits, then on the signal, burst through the doors.

**Oh yeah, getting to the good part. You should know about the review button's huge appetite, so leave him a yummy review, please. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I wasn't home from 7:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night. So here is the next chapter, only one day late.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

The team was the first ones in the warehouse. They burst in, guns drawn, but stopped at the sight before them. Chad had Shannon propped up in front him, holding a knife to her neck. The team was shocked by her appearance. She was stripped to her underwear and bra, and there were bruises covering every inch of exposed flesh. Reid's heart almost stopped when he saw his friend like this. He took a step forward, leveling his revolver at Chad's head. Chad shifted his grip on Shannon, positioning her between himself and Reid. "My good friend, do you really want to do that? Couldn't risk hitting the damsel in distress, now could we?" Chad chided Reid, enjoying the anger he saw filling Reid's face. "Let her go, now." Reid snarled, taking the team by surprise at this show of emotion. Chad only looked amused, saying "Now, that wouldn't be very fun now, would it."

Shannon started to stir in Chad's arms and she looked around at the team. She started to mutter things in what sounded like a mixture of English, Spanish, and Italian. The team could make out what she was saying in English some of the time. "Don't be mean… He is a nice boy… Put the guns down… Don't hurt us… Just put the guns down…" Her English was punctuated by Spanish and Italian phrases that Prentiss seemed to understand. Reid looked back helplessly. "The drugs," he said. "They're messing with her brain." Prentiss spoke up, loudly, so everyone in the room could hear her. "No, she's fine. Put your guns down, everyone. Put down on the floor." Chad smiled smugly at them all. "Finally making a good choice, are we, Shannon." Her only response was something in Italian.

Reid turned to face Prentiss, with anger and resentment on his face. "What are you talking about, put your guns down? Have you gone crazy? Shannon is clearly not in her right mind! Pick your guns back up, NOW!" Prentiss walked over to Reid, and grabbed his gun. The rest of the team had complied, looking as shocked as Reid at the turn of events. "Reid, you need to trust me and Shannon right now. I am begging you. Let go of the gun." Shannon's head flopped to one side as she garbled, "Reid, nice boy, put the gun down." Reid choked back a sob. How could his friends be betraying him? Prentiss felt his grip weaken on the revolver, and grabbed it out of his hand. She walked back to the team, as they swarmed her, demanding to know what she was looked at them calmly, and said, "I was setting up for this," as she turned back to Shannon.

The team watched as Shannon's gaze seemed to focus, and the hand grabbing Chad's arm looked more like a talon than a weak attempt to stay upright. Shannon started to slur, saying "Chad, you said you wanted to be just like Alejo, right?" Chad nodded, enjoying the scene before him. "Well," Shannon started, her voice hardening, "to be just like Alejo, you have to get your ass kicked by me." With that, she yanked on the arm around her neck, and twisted his wrist. The team winced when they heard the crack from 10 feet away. Shannon was a whirling being, with nothing distinguishable able to be seen, other than her mane of red hair flying. In a matter of seconds, she had Chad lying on his back, the knife to his throat. "Oh, yeah. Now you're just like Alejo." Morgan was the first one to recover, and scooped up his gun as he ran forward to cuff Chad. Within seconds, everyone was moving, the warehouse erupting with voices and movement.

**Oh, exciting ending! I hope you enjoyed it. And, feed the review button.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello, my wonderful and delightful readers! I want to thank everyone who left reviews and started following the story. Someone called a fact to mind that I should have explained earlier. Reid is fluent in Italian, so he should have been able to understand what Shannon was saying. I was thinking along the lines that he was focused on making sure Shannon was safe, and was worried about her, he wasn't completely cleared headed, he didn't process what she was saying. I will touch on this later in the story, so now, enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own CM. *sniffle* **

Reid ran forward to Shannon, and hugged her. He didn't realize it was a bad idea until he heard her groan, and her knees started to buckle. "Shannon, I am so sorry! I forgot." Shannon tried to laugh as she fought the urge to pass out from the pain. "I'm fine. I would like to get some clothes or something." Reid gave her a confused look as JJ and Prentiss walked over. "Why?" he asked. Shannon gave him her classic death glare, and responded coolly, "While you and all the other boys here might enjoy staring at me in my underwear, I would like to look decent before we leave." Reid blushed bright red, and looked down at his feet when he mumbled, "Right, sorry." Shannon actually laughed at this, relieved the nightmare was over. Her relief gave away to fear as she remember what Chad said about Carly.

"Carly, how's Carly?" she asked as JJ draped a blanket over her shoulders that Rossi had brought from the car. JJ spoke up quickly, trying to calm her friend down. "Don't worry, she's fine now. She had some internal injuries, but the doctors fixed it all. You'll get to see after you get checked out." Shannon quickly shook her head, but was overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness. She had forgotten about the head injuries she had gotten. As she remembered these, all her injuries hit her at once. Her knees buckled and she slid to the floor, only to be caught by Reid. "Shannon, Shannon!" he called as he watched her eyelids flutter. "Hotch!" he screamed. "Where's the ambulance?"

"Maybe going to the hospital isn't such a bad idea after all," Shannon managed to get out before she lost consciousness, her adrenaline rush gone, as her body fought to protect itself. Morgan and Hotch ran over to help Reid, Prentiss, and JJ get Shannon down on the floor, while Rossi waited outside for the ambulance to arrive. "Shannon, Shannon, can you hear me?" Morgan asked as they all tried to figure out what happened. "Emily, do think it's from internal bleeding?" Emily looked at Shannon, trying to gauge her injuries. "I don't see any tell tale spots, but she's so bruised it hard to say." Emily looked to the side to see JJ trying to comfort Reid, who looked on the edge of hysterics. "Reid, it will be all right," JJ was saying to Reid while the team tried to wake Shannon up. "It will be ok."

Reid looked up when he heard the moan. He had never been so relieved to see Shannon's green eyes than at that moment. Reid rushed over to her side, and knelt down. "Shannon, don't worry. The ambulance will be here any moment." Shannon groaned and craned her head to the side. "I hope that son of a bitch Chad was taken away. Because I swear, if I see him I will rip his head off." A small snicker was heard from the group surrounding her. Everyone turned to see Morgan trying to suppress laughter. "Morgan!" JJ said in shock. "This isn't a laughing matter." Morgan shook his head and tried to regain his composure. "I know," he sputtered, "but Shannon, honey, you are in no condition to be ripping people's heads off." Shannon glared at him, but then started to laugh too. "I guess you're right. But if you don't stop laughing this instant," she said her tone changing to a slightly sarcastic tone, "I will be sure to tell Garcia about this little episode on my sick bed." The instant look of horror and fear that struck Morgan's face was funny enough that everyone started laughing. They all stopped when Shannon started gasping. "Stop making me laugh," she gasped. "I hurt my ribs." Luckily, the ambulance pulled up at this moment, and Shannon was quickly loaded into the back, with Reid and JJ quickly getting in behind her.

**Please leave a delicious review for my friend, the review button!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello, readers! Because you are all so wonderful, here is a longer chapter for all of you. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM. **

On the ride to the hospital, the paramedics said it didn't appear that Shannon had any severe injuries, only dehydration and severe bruising. An IV was quickly administered, giving both fluids and pain medication, easing Shannon's pain. She fell asleep soon after, exhausted from the ordeal, so Reid and JJ began to relax. They pulled up to the ER 30 minutes later, where Shannon had a tearful reunion with her parents. It was cut short when she started gasping for air, and she was rushed off to determine if she had broken ribs, and assess the rest of her injuries. These tests did little to calm anyone's nerves, and the group waited tensely for a half hour. They were all relieved when the doctor came out to tell them good news. "The scans revealed a small bleed in her spleen that should correct itself. We like to keep her here for a day or two to watch it. She also has a concussion from the hits to her head. Her whole body is bruised, and she has a shallow cut on her neck that looks to be from a knife. Her ribs are severely bruised, with two being cracked. In all, considering what she's been through, and the condition of her cousin, she's extremely lucky. How she managed to fight that guy off amazes me. You can go talk to her in a few minutes. She threatened me on pain of death to let her see Carly before she gets placed in her room, because she didn't trust us to give her quality care."

Everyone in the room cracked a smile at that. They knew Shannon would be okay if she was already threatening the doctors. Shannon's parents were the first ones to go see her once she had been situated in her room. "Shannon, oh my poor baby!" Mrs. Fitzpatrick cried as she ran over to her daughter's bedside. Shannon gave her mom a hug, but winched as she felt her many injuries. "Mom, I'm fine. I truly am fine." Mr. Fitzpatrick walked over and took his daughter's hand as his wife shook her head vigorously. "No, you are not fine. You got kidnapped by a deranged serial killer." Shannon cracked a sarcastic smile, as she wagged her eyebrows. "Haha! That is where you are wrong, dear mother. I did not get kidnapped by a deranged serial killer. I allowed myself to be taken to save my cousin from a crazed sociopath that has very violent and homicidal tendencies." Mrs. Fitzpatrick did not look very amused, while her husband started laughing, earning him a dirty look from his wife. "What, dear? Is there really any other thing to do right now than laugh at everything our brilliant but completely pigged-headed, yet brave daughter says as she lies in her hospital bed? Besides, she is obviously feeling fine if she's being sarcastic." Shannon smiled at her dad, directing "Touche!" at her mother. Mrs. Fitzpatrick glared at the two of them, but ended up laughing any ways. "All right, you two win this one. But if you ever run after a crazed sociopath that has very violent and homicidal tendencies again, you will have a whole different thing coming for you when you escape again." The family spent a few more minutes together, then Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick walked back out to the waiting room. They nodded toward the team, giving them the okay to go see Shannon.

Reid was the first one through the door, followed by the rest of the team. Shannon smiled at each of them as they walked in, and waited for them to get situated. Reid sat down in one of the chairs by the bed, with JJ taking another one, and the rest of the team spread out around the bed. Shannon turned her head toward JJ when she heard a quiet sniffing sound. "JJ, are you crying?" Shannon asked in an incredulous voice. "I'm fine, everyone is acting like I'm dying or something." JJ shook her head, but let out a small laugh when she had to wipe her checks to get rid of the tears. "I know that," she said, "but you worried all of us. Why couldn't you just tell us what was going on? We could have helped you."

Reid spoke up at this point. "Shannon, I was there in the bar with you. You could have told me everything, and I could have helped you catch him." Shannon looked over at her close friend and could see how upset he was over the turn of events. She sighed, saying, "Reid, even if I had told you everything, there was nothing you could legally do. There was no evidence tying him to the case. I was in the same position as I was 14 years ago. I had planned on doing the same thing, but he knew I would fight back, and he pulled a move I wasn't expecting." Morgan looked at Shannon, upset that his friend was lying in a hospital bed because she felt that they couldn't have helped her. "Shannon, we could have helped you. We would have found something."

Hotch spoke up at this point. "As much as I agree with the team, Shannon is also right. We could have found shreds of evidence, like the car registration, and the drugs going missing, but it would have been little to grab at." Shannon pulled a comical 'ha, I told you so look' and everyone laughed. Prentiss smiled at her friend, saying, "You're the one who is injured. We should be making you feel better, not the other way around." Shannon shrugged her shoulders, barely able to stop the grimace that was forming on her face, because her ribs were killing her. Everyone saw her initial discomfort, though, and the mood quickly sobered. Hotch looked uncomfortable when he had to ask the next question. "Shannon, we need a statement from you. Would you mind telling us what happened? We don't have all the details."

Reid glared at Hotch, but he stopped when Shannon grabbed his hand and squeezed it, silently telling him to calm down. "It's fine, Hotch. It's actually a great story that is a testament to my complete and total pigheadedness. I think you all will enjoy it. It's much better than my original serial killer story. Where do you want to start?" she asked as she looked at the faces around her. JJ responded, "I think you should start when you figured out something was wrong" which got nods of agreement from the rest of the team. Shannon shifted in her bed, trying to find the nonexistent unbruised part of her body, settling in a slightly more comfortable spot, and began her new story.

**Yay, Shannon's reunion with everyone! Oh, happy day! Love it or hate it, leave a review for the friendly, hungry button down there to eat, please.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am so sorry. I had end of the year projects, studying, and finals. After that, I had the worst case of writers block. But I regrouped, I looked at some pictures of baby pandas, and went back in. And ever so slowly, I finally got this chapter together. So, to repay you all, it's over 2000 words long. I hope to have the next chapter up sooner. I also reposted some of the past chapters. After going back through the story, I didn't like the way I worded some things. I didn't change any of the plot, so you don't have to go back and reread. If you want to, I changed chapters 14, 16, and 17. And here we go…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own CM **

"As I already told you, I left here right after the original killings. I went to Stanford and graduated top of my class in premed. I went to Harvard for medical school because of their reputation as an internal and pediatric school. The whole time though, I was still affected by the killings. The reason I became a pediatric surgeon is because I felt I had to do something to make up for all the girls who died here. That was my logic going into this whole thing. I had to minimize the damage. When Carly was taken, I couldn't let anything happen to her," Shannon said, looking directly at Reid. "You need to understand. I chose to fight him alone. I had to save my cousin. My parents had enough trouble getting through what happened to me, and nothing happened to me. I wasn't going to sentence my aunt and uncle to a personal hell when I could have stopped it.

"When I was contacted about the new case, I started going through every person in town mentally, breaking down their behavior patterns. Chad was on that original list, and once you told me about the new note, I began to look solely at people who had a grudge against me, which helped to narrow down the list, and moved Chad up quite a few notches. When I turned him down in high school, his disdain for me was evident. I always thought he was unstable, but never imagined him being that bad.

"I knew it was Chad when I spotted him following us in the van. I had narrowed it down to 3 people, Chad being the number one, after Carly was taken. He was one of the only people who was aggressive enough to pull off a stunt, and he had the biggest problem with me out of the three. I made Morgan stop for ice cream and take the 'shortcut' just be sure before I made any moves. When I spotted him in the bar, I decided to try to end things. It was just my luck that he had a very heavy object in his car that he managed to get to and hit me over the head with."

Hotch stopped her at that point. "Shannon, do you know what he hit you with?" She looked down, as the tiniest parts of her face that were unbruised turned bright red. "Don't laugh at me when I tell you," she said. Rossi looked confused. "Why would we laugh at you?" Shannon mumbled something, and when she saw the confused looks on everyone's face, she shouted "He hit me over the head with a frying pan! I mean, how cliché is that? Of all the things to be knocked out with, I manage to be the incarnation of a cartoon!" With that confession, Prentiss and Morgan both burst out laughing, while JJ and Reid's mouths opened in disbelief and shock.

"You seriously got hit on the head with a frying pan?" Morgan choked out. "How in the world did he manage to do that?" Shannon glared at him, but had to smile at how absurd it was. "In the parking lot, Chad walked pass me towards his car, so I started to turn around to give him a opening to come at me. I just didn't plan on the 'look, a heavy metal object' factor. I tried to get out of his grasp, but he swung it around after I punched him, and got me in the head, hard. I woke up in the back of his van almost 45 minutes later, because I was only awake for a few minutes before we got to the warehouse.

"Chad pulled me out of the van, and hauled me into the warehouse. I spotted the graffiti, and I knew that was the thing I need to help you identify the building. When he pulled me into the building I spotted Carly. I went to her, and she woke up, but the drugs he had given her, combined with the injuries and blood loss made her woozy. I told Chad to let her go, since I had fulfilled his demand. He refused." Hotch stopped her, needing some clarification. "We got the actual translation of the note after you where taken. Why did Chad refuse to let Carly go?"

Nothing in Hotch's tone was supposed to Shannon feel bad, but she still felt horrible for what she put everyone in the room through. "I am so sorry for what I put you through. I just had to say it before I continue. And I'm sorry for not telling you the whole translation. You would have never let me out of your sight if you all knew. I couldn't let that happen. I had to save Carly. I had to get her away from Chad. Which was hard when he didn't let her go. He said since I had fought him at the parking lot instead of giving myself up, I broke the agreement. He said he would get to Fitzpatricks. That's when I told Carly to run while I distracted Chad. I gave her a message to give to Reid, and I told her run while I attacked him. I saw her stop at the door, and I told her to run, but something hit me on the back of the head, and I blacked out. The next time I woke up, I was only in my underwear and bra, and the bruises where already starting to show. That's when I realized he had drugged me."

Shannon looked around to see the pained expressions on the team's faces. Hotch looked upset when started to say, "Shannon, is here anyway… I mean, do you believe you could have been…" The team was shocked by Hotch's stammering, so JJ finished for him. "Shannon, do you think there was any chance Chad had raped you?" Reid looked defeated as he laid his head down on his and Shannon's still intwined hands. He had been waiting for them to ask the question, and he didn't want to lose control in front of everybody if she said yes. "No," was her firm response. "He didn't. They checked in the ER. When it came up negative, I didn't want the doctors to say anything. My parents had gone through enough horror for one lifetime. If they knew I even had to be checked, it would have killed them." Reid let out a sigh of relief, and everyone else relaxed, feeling relieved by her answer.

"Where was I? After I woke up the first time, Chad told me Carly got away, and he started to kick me. I tried to distract him by asking what he was giving me. He told me he was giving me Zoflac, and when he told me the dosage, I saw a slim chance to tip the scale to my favor. He was giving 10 mg, which is the dosage for someone weighing 150 pounds. I convinced I weigh 130. He isn't the brightest person ever, so he bought it." Shannon paused for a second, and added, "Please tell him I said that." Everyone in the room started laughing. Morgan promised her he would pass along the message. "Anyway, since I weigh 180, because muscle weighs more than fat, bone structure, yadadadada," before anyone could interrupt her, "the dosage still affected me, but not enough to fully knock me on my face. I still felt woozy, but it was more 'slightly buzzed' feeling, instead of 'I knocked back half of a tequila bottle' woozy. Not that I would know or anything." She hastily added. "Suuurrrreeee," Prentiss drew out the world, and then ducked when Shannon threw a pillow at her head. "Hey! Not nice!"

"Says the woman to the poor, innocent, lifesaver who is lying in a hospital bed after doing said woman's job." Shannon fired back. "Now give me my pillow back. This bed is uncomfortable enough with it." Prentiss picked it up, and handed it back to her. "As you wish, your majesty." Shannon mock-glared at her, but ended up smiling. 'You're damn right I'm royalty. And don't forget it." JJ and Reid laughed at the antics of their friends, while Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi all smiled. Shannon put the pillow behind her, and sat up as straight as she could, and swelled with fake superiority. "Now if this commoner would stop belittling me, I could continue with my tale of adventure." Prentiss raised her hands in mock surrender, and Shannon started again.

"After he lowered my dosage, I kept trying to distract Chad to keep him from beating me, while I was looking for an escape route. He confessed to the whole thing to me. I can go up the the stand to testify if I have to. I know the whole story. He said he met Alejo in the prison clinic, where he works as a nurse. That's where he got the Zoflac. They became friends, and Alejo started to tell him about the crimes. Either Chad ignored the victimology, only planning on drawing me here, or Alejo never explained it to him. Chad never was clear on that. Either way, Chad was drawn to Alejo work, and he become obsessed when he learned I was the girl who ended his mentor's reign. He was thinking about recreating the crimes for some time just to get back at me. However, when Alejo was killed, he stopped. But when Chad heard that I had graduated from medical school and was becoming a renowned doctor, he hated it. He started planning again."

Shannon paused, trying to remember what Chad had said, since the concussion and painkillers where still messing with her. "His exact words where, 'I knew that you always wanted to play hero, so what better way to get you here than to recreate the original crimes and wait.' He claimed that everyone would rejoice when he killed me, and he said "I'm not the trash, you are.' Now that is a debatable statement, but that my friends, is for another time. So, I got the confession out of him, and at the same time managed to provoke him into punching me a few more times until I blacked out." She continued nonchalantly. Reid looked at her, and could see her trying to put up a front that she was okay. He made a mental note to talk to her later in private.

"Anyway, the next time I came to, I could hear the sirens. Of course Chad had to come in and ruin everything with the 'knife to my throat, don't move or I'll kill you' routine. Thank god Reid understood the message Carly gave to him, or I may not be laying here telling you this story." Morgan interrupted, stepping forward. "What do you mean, a message? Pretty Boy, why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you decipher it." Shannon looked incredulous as she stared at the confused looks around her, then Reid's guilty face. "You didn't tell them? I told Carly to give it to you, but if you had pulled into a different part of the compound without them knowing, you could have spent hours searching." Reid face turned red as he quietly mumbled something under his breath. Shannon started laughing. "On, I get it! You wanted to be the one to figure it out and save the day! Gosh, Reid, I never expected that from you." Shannon smirked as she continued to poke fun at her close friend. "And let me just tell you, when you burst through the doors of that warehouse, gun drawn was pretty damn sexy. Truth, my man."

Morgan was doubled over with laughter, as Prentiss and JJ wiped tears from their eyes. Hotch was quietly chucking, and Rossi clapped a hand on Reid back, bestowing a sage piece of wisdom to him. "She's a pretty girl, you should make a move." Reid stood up, face bright red, as his voice rose 2 octaves. "WHAT? NO! Shannon's my best friend, I could never…" he rambled on for a little while, until Shannon finally put him out of his misery. "Relax, 'best friend', I was kidding. Now if everyone would calm down, I will regale you with the climatic ending to my story." Morgan stood up slowly, clutching the stitch in his side, and the girls slowly got their tears under control. "Thank you."

Shannon turned towards Reid, who started blushing again, afraid of what was coming. Instead he got a smack to the arm. "Ow! What was that for?" She settled back down against her pillows, and replied, "That was not so conveniently picking today to forget how to speak Italian and Spanish. I was planning on you being to understand what I was actually saying, but your eidetic memory failed you. Luckily Emily here speaks both, so she listened and believed me. I was trying to tell you that I was fine and could get out of his grasp. I told her to tell you to put the guns down so I didn't have to be worried about getting shot. But someone here got all emotional, which was sweet, but it through a wrench in my plans." Reid blushed again, so he looked down at the floor. "But, girl power prevailed, and you got your gun taken away, so I finally kicked that son of a bitch's ass, and everything worked out in the end.

"Until you collapsed from your injuries, and had to be rushed to the hospital." JJ pointed out. Shannon started to pout. "That's a minor detail that didn't need to be pointed out. I am fine, as the doctors confirmed." Reid looked up, and quickly said, "You have a concussion, two broken ribs, and internal bleed from your spleen. That hardly qualifies as fine." Shannon contradicted him. "Trust me, this mild compared to some of the surgeries I have to perform on kids. This is a baby problem. Now, someone needs to give their phone so I can call Pen and end her agony and then head over to the hotel to get some much needed sleep. I will have to decline hugging you all, since it would most likely be very painful. Now go!" Reid passed Shannon his phone, then they all walked out, but they stopped outside the door and looked in. Shannon made a fake angry face, and pointed down the hallway, so the team quickly walked out. She shook her head in wonder, but dialed the tech genius' number and listened for her to pick up.

"What can I do for ypu, Junior G-man?"

"Hey Pen."

**Now I need your guys' help. How should I write Garcia's and Shannon's conversation? Send me a prompt, and maybe I'll use it. And another thing. I have the idea for a sequel to this story. Should I write it? I'm interested in what you all think. And please leave a review, I'm letting the review button starve to death, he's completely emaciated.**


	22. Chapter 22

***Sneaks in guiltily* Oh, hi guys! What's happenin? I AM SO SORRY! I have been so crazy busy. I had a 3 week drama camp, then my family went camping for 2 weeks, and now my fall sport is starting. I have no more time to myself. But I finally finished the chapter. This story is winding down. I think there may only be 1 or 2 more chapters left in this one. But, I have an idea for a sequel. So if any of you are interested in that leave me a comment saying so. I am taking any ideas, prompts or crimes for it.**

Garcia had been sitting in her tech lair for the past 12 hours waiting for the phone ring that signaled an update. She had been staring at the screens in front of her, yet not really seeing anything. She was pulled from her stupor when her phone started to ring and buzz across the table. When she saw Reid's number she quickly scooped up the phone and put it to her ear. "What can I do for you, Junior G-man?"

"Hey Pen." Came the quiet reply.

Garcia almost dropped the phone in surprise. She had expected a call that they were heading off to rescue Shannon, or that they needed more information on the unsub. She had not expected Shannon to be the one to call her to relay the information.

"Um, Pen, are you still there?" Shannon asked worriedly.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm still here. I can't believe your here, I mean, there on the phone with me. I've haven't heard that much from the team and I was so worried. NEVER do that to me again, Shannon Fitzpatrick! Do you understand me?"

Shannon smiled at her friend's response, but was still sobered by the amount of worried she had cause them. She became confused by one of the statement Garcia had made. "What do you mean, you haven't heard from them in a while? Didn't they call you when they arrested Chad and found me?"

Garcia started to seethe with anger when she realized what Shannon meant. "When did they find you, exactly?"

"About 2 hours ago, didn't they tell you?" The pause on the other end of the line was answer enough. "My God, Pen. I am so sorry they didn't call you earlier. I assumed they would have told they got. I was calling just so I could tell you I'm fine. Man, am I going to have to kick some people's booties tomorrow."

Garcia cracked a smile at her friend attitude, while she quietly hacked into Shannon's medical files just to double check. "So, where are you right now?"

"I'm standing in the middle of the woods since I kidnapped Reid so we can finally acknowledge our feelings for each other," came the deadpanned answer.

"Really?"

"No! What is with you people and trying to set me up with Reid? If we started dating, I couldn't tease and insult him anymore. Life would become so boring. Actually I'm in the hospital right now, checking on Carly." Shannon smoothly lied.

"And being kept for observation due to a concussion, broken ribs, and bleeding spleen!" Garcia was ready to start messing with some of the team members' credit scores since they kept this from her. She was getting ready to mess with Reid and Morgan's when Shannon indignant voice came through the phone.

"Woah, woah, woah! Did you hack my medical files? Not cool Pen, not cool! I would never hack any of your personal information." Shannon finished in an innocent voice, while she reached into the bag her parents had brought her, wincing the whole time, so she could get her own phone out to start sending emails to her boss to explain she would need another day off.

"I bet you would if you knew how." Garcia shot back, as she looked into the case files.

"Who says I don't. After all, I am a genius. I could hack into any computer if I wanted to."

"No, you couldn't."

Yes, I could."

"No, you couldn't"

"Ok, FINE! I couldn't hack into any computer if I wanted to. Are you happy now? You have crushed the dreams of a poor injured soul. I will never be complete again!" Shannon voice had gone into full theatricality mode, as Garcia laughed at her flair for the dramatics.

"I can totally see way you got the part of Dolly for your high school play. I still don't understand why you became doctor. You should be an actor."

"People always tell me that, but I enjoy being a dramatic doctor. Oh, wait till you hear about what Morgan did at the warehouse, and what I did to Reid." Shannon launched into a detailed telling of the events that had transpired in the past few hours.

An hour after leaving the hospital, the team got a short nap, and headed off to the police station to question Chad. They stood behind the two way mirror, just staring at him. They were all pleased by the look of discomfort his face as he cradled his poorly splinted wrist. After a minute, Reid broke the silence. "Let me go interview him." Protests broke out immediately as the whole team talked over one another, each trying to make their opinion know on why that was such a bad idea. They kept talking until Hotch cleared his throat loudly, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"Reid, you will not go interview him because he knows that one have personal connection to Shannon. He will try to exploit that feeling by feeding you stories just to get a reaction. Prentiss and JJ will do the interview. He should be thrown off by being interviewed by women. Play the power angle. He objectifies women, so that should give you an edge. He waved his right to a lawyer, so feel free to ask anything" Both women nodded and prepared themselves to enter the interrogation room.

Chad looked up when he heard the door open, hoping for a doctor, but his face split into a grin as he saw who it was. It was so nice of these people to send in such pretty girls to look at. He settled back in his chair, careful not to jostle his injury and leered at the two in front of him. "So, dolls when are you going to take me to get this fixed. I sure hope your there when they set it so I can hold your hands."

"Oh, I'm sorry where you speaking to us? I don't know about you JJ, but all I heard was a weak little whine. But that is what I would expect from such a loser. JJ, do you really think a man like this could pull off something like this?"

JJ gave him a quick head to toe check, then turned back to Prentiss. "I agree with you. This guy doesn't have the balls to pull any of this off. Only a real man could have done this much damage. He just looks pathetic. Anyway, have you seen what happened to Tom and Katie…"

The men watched as Prentiss and JJ continued to bait Chad, hoping he would break soon. Reid fidgeted while he stared at Chad through the window. "That is the reason why I wouldn't let you in there." Reid stopped as Hotch's voice called him out on his unruliness.

"What does my fidgeting have to do with my abilities at interrogation?" Reid responded in a huff as he stopped rocking back and forth. He was still anxious and upset despite Shannon's good prognoses and Chad being arrested.

"You're fidgeting because you want that man to confess as fast as possible, and I'm afraid you would have gone to any length to get it. You haven't been acting like yourself lately Reid, and I…"

"Of course I haven't been acting like myself!" Reid exploded. "That man in there kidnapped and tortured my best friend because she turned him down in high school. He almost killed because she saw that he was a creep who doesn't deserve to live. She nearly sacrificed herself so her cousin could live. So, yeah, I'm not myself. But that doesn't mean I can't do my job."

Rossi, Hotch, and Morgan were shocked by Reid's outburst. Hotch quickly tried to sate Reid's anger, "Reid, if you had let me finish, I would've said that I was worried that you might've gotten physically with him because of what he did to Shannon. I chose the girls because, besides the profile, I was hoping they could keep a lid on their temper then the rest of us." Reid curtly nodded at Hotch in response to his answer, and turned back to the interrogation.

Morgan was watching closely, and saw that Chad was starting to crack under Prentiss and JJ's hard questioning and attitude. "Guys, look at Riddle." The men looked up in time to see him explode.

"Shut up, just SHUT UP!" he screamed at the two women. "I did, I killed each of those girls. I kidnapped Carly and Shannon Fitzpatrick. I took those girls, and enjoyed every second of it. I bet them slowly, enjoying their pain, and then I killed them by strangling and stabbing them. Nothing felt better than to feel their blood running over my hands. I had total power over them. Then I got Carly. She looks so much Shannon. I enjoyed my time with her. But then I got my hands on Shannon. Oh, was that a gift from God or the devil, I haven't decided it yet. She is such a pretty girl. But I think she looked better with all those bruises I added. So pretty," Chad's voice had come down to a coo. Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi looked over at Reid to see his reaction. There was vein sticking out of his neck, and he had his hands clenched in fists. Prentiss and JJ tried to keep their repulse under control so they could get a confession.

"I so enjoyed our time together," Chad continued. "She had so much fight in her, and enjoyed watching that drain from her, watching the hope and life drain from her eyes. She was mine. She was all mine." Chad suddenly looked up at the two women, and his features suddenly contorted with anger. "She was all mine until you took her from me. You stupid bitches took her from, and that toothpick kid. YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!" Chad leaned across the table as he shouted, and JJ saw an opportunity to get revenge. She grabbed his hurt wrist, twisted it, and slammed it down onto the table. Chad screamed in pain, and lurched backwards. JJ and Emily both stood up and walked out of the room to meet the rest of the team.

JJ glanced at the looks on everyone else's faces, and shrugged her shoulders. "He 'came at me'. It was in self defense." The team all agreed whole heartedly, and they walked to the front of the station to start cleaning up their area.

**Yay, girl power again. Like I said earlier, if any of you are interested in the sequel, tell by feeding the review button below. I would be grateful for any prompts too**. **Either leave it as part of a review, or send me a PM. Both work. Thanks for reading!**


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